13 July 2014 Musa plans return to Egypt and Muslim is a mirror...

13 July 2014

Musa plans return to Egypt and Muslim is a mirror...

By the Grace of Allah, in this blessed month, we continued with the life of Prophet Musa* and he became a Messenger on his journey to Egypt. We also explored why all Prophets were shepherds.
The Main topic was exploring the Hadith about a Muslim being a mirror to another Muslim – many lessons to be learned.
Some great feedback from the children and next week we’ll continue with Allah’s conversation with Musa*, inshaAllah.
Please continue do dhikr and get close to Allah in the last half of Ramadhan and please continue to make du’a for all your family, friends, the ill and dying, those Muslims affected by war and oppression around the world (including Syria, Palestine, Kashmire, Burma, Chechnya, Iraq, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Egypt and others).
Jzk.
Naveed

Lives of the Prophets - Musa: Journey to Egypt


Recap - Life of Musa* to date...
(Backstory important in defining Musa* and giving him the skills and competencies to deal both with Pharaoh and his people - Bani Israel)

• Birth
• Upbringing in the Palace
• Accidental killing
• Fleeing
• Life as a Shepherd (see below)
• Family Man

'Every Prophet a Shepherd'
What is the wisdom behind this from Allah? Some points are:

1 Teaching responsibility.
The shepherd is responsible for his herd and usually looks after the flock of another. They are hired. The shepherd holds full responsibility and accountability over the herd.
2 Teaching patience.
Taking sheep out to graze is a slow process, as sheep are quite slow and they take their time and one must wait until the sheep are done. The shepherd must wait and be patient, as he is unable to communicate with them. Prophets required much patience during da'wah.
3 Teaching protection.
The shepherd protects the herd. There are various seen or unseen dangers, wolves, other beasts, diseases, etc, all of which the shepherd must consistently make sure do not endanger the herd.
The Prophets are very protective of their people, and they try to protect their followers from all physical and psychological dangers.
4 Teaching detection of danger.
Sheep/Goat have limited sight and can only see so far. A human who stands tall has a longer view and can see danger as it is approaching, as the herd cannot. The first to notice danger is the shepherd who can give an advanced warning to the herd.
The Prophets have the clearest vision and the longest view, and a vantage point that none of us have and they know what is good for us.
At times the shepherd may hit the sheep in order to give a clear and quick warning and ward off its current path away from the danger. There is no time for a nice and slow convincing manner to this approach when the danger is so near. Similarly, the Prophets at times would appear harsh in their words, as they cared about their followers and wanted to move them away from close dangers.
5 Teaching simplicity.
A shepherd is living a very simple life and cannot take all of his accessories with him to the desert. A shepherd can only carry with him some basic needs in the desert whilst doing his job. A shepherd will also become accustomed to the different environments encountered when feeding the animals, such as the cold or heat of the weather, rain, wind, etc.
6 Teaching closeness to the creation of Allah
Shepherding pulls you out of the artificial world and brings you close to nature. Shepherding gives him an opportunity to contemplate about nature.


Why specifically sheep?
There is a custom to raise cows and camels. Prophets herded sheep [or goat] and not other animals.

1 Sheep are weak animals
Weaker than cows and camels and need more protection and care and can easily fall prey. If one sheep goes astray, that will be the target of the wolf. Sheep more difficult to maintain as a flock because of their propensity to go astray and wander away.
2 We are affected by our surrounding environment and it leaves a lasting effect on our personality.
Shepherds are different than cowboys and cowboys differ from shepherds of camel. Sheep are very compassionate, merciful and weak, so the shepherd learns to become kind and merciful toward them as they are fragile animals and one cannot be too harsh toward them.
Camels on the other hand are very arrogant animals, and one cannot be soft with a camel as it will take advantage of you. The arrogance of the camel must be met with strength as opposed to kindness and compassion. Shepherds of camel are therefore very rough, tough and may be rude, which is learned via their environment.


Other Responsibilities of Shepherd

• Feeding
• Watering
• Grooming
• Shearing
• Delivering Lambs
• Leading
• Wandering Sheep

Prophet Musa* at the Valley Of Tuwa and the First Revelation
The Prophet Musa* honoured his agreement and stayed in Madian for many years and got married and may or may not have had children. Prophet Musa* felt homesick and wanted to visit his family in Egypt and so him and his family left Madian. On their journey to Egypt they became lost and it was a cold desert night when Prophet Musa* saw a fire in the distance, on the side of the Mount Sinai. The Prophet Musa* thought he could bring a brand from the fire to warm up or to gather some information from the people about the journey to Egypt.
When Moses had fulfilled the appointed term and had set off with his family, he noticed a fire from one side of the Mount. He said to his family, "Stay here, I can see a fire. Hopefully I will bring you back some news from it or a burning branch from the fire so that you will be able to warm yourselves." (TMQ 28:29)
When Moses said to his household, "I can make out a fire. I will bring you news from it or at least a burning brand so that hopefully you will be able to warm yourselves." (TMQ 27:7)
When he saw a fire and said to his family, "Wait here. I can make out a fire. Maybe I will bring you a brand from it, or will find guidance there." (TMQ 20:10)
He approached the fire and saw the light extending to heaven and the tree not burning, special bright light when suddenly he heard his name!
But when he reached it a voice called out to him from the right hand side of the valley in the part which was full of blessing, from out of the bush: "Moses, I am Allah, the Lord of all the worlds." (TMQ 28:30)
Then when he reached it, a voice called out, "Moses! I am your Lord. Take off your sandals. You are in the holy valley of Tuwa. I have chosen you, so listen well to what is revealed. I am Allah. There is no god but Me, so worship Me and establish prayer to remember Me." (TMQ 20: 11-14)

This was the first revelation the Prophet Musa* received, honouring him as Allah's messenger, the highest rank that a human can attain in this world.



 Main Topic: Hadith where "A believer is a mirror to another believer" (narrated by Abu Huraira—transmitted in Abu Dawud)


Why choose mirror specifically and not just say "they give naseeha (advice) to one another?


The Mirror (how the mirror gives you advice)

• The mirror doesn’t lie to you - It shows you exactly how you are.
• The mirror shows what is wrong with you.
• The mirror gives you advice immediately.
• When you leave the mirror, it doesn’t spread your advice to the next person.
• The mirror doesn’t share your secrets.
• The mirror allows you to change at your pace - It doesn’t force you to make any changes but shows it to you.
• The mirror shows you the advice, and when you leave the mirror, that’s it
• The mirror will show you the same mistake the next time but won’t nag you about it.
• If you have a mistake and fix it, then the mistake is no longer there anymore - It doesn’t show you the mistake anymore.
• If you don’t have the mirror, you wouldn’t be able to see what’s wrong with you
• The mirror shows you things you can’t see.
• The mirror shows you the good and the bad.
• The mirror doesn’t talk back to you or give you attitude.
• Mirrors can be simple and don’t have to be fancy - A person doesn’t have to be Scholar to give you advice! If you can teach yourself to find good in anyone’s advice or anyone’s speech and act upon it, then you have struck gold.
• The mirror is like Inception. You think you are fixing yourself when you look at it but it was really the mirror that showed it to you - You think you see the fault, but it is actually the mirror that shows you the fault.
• A dirty mirror can’t really show you much. You have to go to a clean mirror.
• If there’s no light, then you can’t benefit from the mirror. Light is like iman (Faith); Darkness = no iman. No hidayah, no knowledge
• The mirror can only show you what is on the outside. It doesn’t even attempt to profess to know what is on the inside - The believer can’t read what is in your heart.
• If you smile at the mirror, it smiles back at you. If you frown at the mirror, it frowns back at you.
• Mirrors always speak to you in a language that you understand.
• No human beings can see themselves with their own eyes - The mirror is the only reflective surface that allows you to see yourself.
• There’s some type of advice you only want to get in private
• The mirror gives full advice and not half of the advice - If there is strawberry in your teeth, it will show all of it to you and not just part of it.
• The mirror makes no judgment and only gives you advice.
• The mirror can be portable - You can call people any time you need advice. The mobile phone is like the portable mirror.
• The mirror doesn’t bend the rules for you.
• You can have more than one mirror.
• It never tires. Every time you stand in front of it, it is ready to give you advice.
• It shows you where you are in relation to your background.
• Mirrors are used to make an area look spacious. Perhaps you have certain traits (interrupt people, speak to people rudely), and these make your world constrict around you. When your friend shows you these things, then suddenly it becomes more spacious.
• You need to look in the mirror. If you don’t, then you have problems.
• Sometimes you have to go to another mirror just to make sure - The first brother may have given you advice but you don’t know him well, so you go to your closer friend and ask if what the first brother said is correct.
• You take care of the mirror - It is a two-way relationship.
• The more you don’t look, the worse your appearance. You always go to it every day. You look at a mirror more than once a day.
• You need to show the mirror what you need advice about.
• It doesn’t need compliments.
• It doesn’t have to be perfect.
• It doesn’t get irritated.
• It is always there for you.